A. Technical Field
The present invention pertains generally to computer applications, and relates more particularly to systems and methods for transmitting significant numbers of messages via one or more networks.
B. Background of the Invention
The prevalence of electronic devices and networks has dramatically increased the connectivity of entities, such as individuals, groups, companies, government organizations, and the like. This infrastructure facilitates several communications means, such as, for example, email, text messaging, social networking, and blogging. Because these various communications means provide an excellent vehicle to reach vast numbers, different organizations have tried to utilized these communication channels. The result has been torrents of messages being transmitted via these various channels. However, this dramatic increase in communication traffic has created signification problems.
First, a significant increase in message traffic can overwhelm a system. If too many messages are requested to be sent at one time, a communications system may become overburdened and may take a significant amount of time to send the messages. And, in some cases, a burst of message traffic can result in system failure.
Second, messaging system providers traditionally have been limited to a specific communication channel. For example, there are messaging providers that specialize in email communication, but they are unable to convey Short Message Service (SMS) messages. Similarly, a system may be able to send facsimile and voice messages but is unable to interface with social networking sites to broadcast messages. Thus, a business wanting to execute a broad messaging campaign must engage multiple messaging providers in order to cover multiple communications channels.
Third, related to the problem of having to engage multiple messaging providers is the issue of coordination. Because multiple, unrelated entities are involved in the messaging campaign, there can be no central coordination, except by the message campaign initiator. However, this entity is typically not well situated to coordinate the events. The entity may have limited access to the necessary data from the messaging providers. And, even if the entity has access to the right data, the entity may be unable to act upon it or get changes implemented in a timely manner. For example, if the entity realizes that there is a problem with a communication channel, the entity can only share that information with the relevant messaging provider or providers. The entity cannot directly fix the problem because the messaging providers are independent third parties. Thus, the entity cannot insure that changes are made in a timely manner. If the messaging campaign is time sensitive, delays in getting the messaging provider to address issues can be catastrophic. Also, the entity must maintain and manage information from each of the different providers. This oversight requires having people that can understand the various communication systems and can analyze the data. However, for many entities, particularly smaller ones, they are unlikely to have people with that capability. A benefit of engaging a third-party messaging service is so that the entity can keep its cost low by not having to bring that expertise and capability in-house. Thus, the coordination aspect is in opposition to using independent messaging services.
Finally, messaging providers typically have to build large dedicated systems. These large systems can allow for heavy messaging traffic; however, they come with significant costs. Because these systems are costly to purchase, to configure, and to operate, the messaging provider must keep the system running at high volume in order to spread the costs. However, messaging traffic is notoriously uneven and bursty. Thus, there will be times when a dedicated system is underutilized and times when it is overcapacity—neither of which yields favorable results. When underutilized, the costs per message increase and may become cost prohibitive. When overcapacity, messaging performance suffers and the messaging campaign initiator may be unsatisfied. This problem is only multiplied when a messaging provider has a dedicated system for each communication mode.
Thus, what is needed are systems and methods for messaging that avoid or mitigate the previous problems of large-scale messaging.